Some Problems with Bystander Intervention – Marc MacYoung

I asked if anyone knew how to stop 12 guys raping someone. Nobody did… and that’s a problem
***
The answer is slaughter.

You go in there so hard, fast and out of nowhere that three of them are on the ground dying when they realize the situation has changed.* You HAVE to induce a ‘flight’ response before they have a chance to kick into fight mode. Because, if they kick to fight, you’re dead.

So the very idea of ‘calling for men to intervene’ is demanding that he either die or become a murderous berserk to save a complete stranger — just because of the position that person is in when she pees. Let’s look at just SOME of the problems with this request.

First off I asked the question of what to do and — sitting in comfort –no one came up with the answer that is most likely to keep the rescuer alive. So how likely are they to come with it on the spot?
Second, given the current legal climate, after you go Beowulf YOU have to evaporate as fast as the remaining 9 — because you won’t be hailed as the savior. You’re going to get charged with murder. Right or wrong, this is how things work.

Third, even IF you can go shield biter, there’s a damned good chance you’re going to end up dying or hospitalized because someone manages to rally. If you’re torn up and can’t leave the scene (or show up later at the hospital) the cops are going to want to talk to you about your handiwork.
That’s what’s on the other side of acting.

The guy who wrote this article is bitter and angry — so what? You may hold him in contempt, but recognize that the demand that men sacrifice themselves to save a complete stranger is not only another form of contempt, but ‘why should he’ is a damned good question.

*There is a way you can announce your presence before you arrive, but it requires you and 35 friends carrying clubs